Pride
by DramaLexy
Summary: No one should have to be ashamed of who they are. Third story in my series after 'Harm' and 'Marks.'
1. Chapter 1

**TITLE: Pride**

**SUMMARY: No one should have to be ashamed of who they are. Third story in my series after 'Harm' and 'Marks.'**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own, you don't sue.**

**A/N: Now that I'm back from my wonderful Canadian vacation, the saga continues! I wanted to try putting the spotlight on different characters, so this fic centers on Jude and Stef, but the whole family is definitely still involved. If you haven't read the previous two stories... go read! ;-) But in a nutshell: Callie is back home after the finale and trying to deal with her multiple issues while the moms are moving forward with making the Jacobs siblings permanently part of the family.**

* * *

One Friday afternoon, after getting home from school, the Foster kids all decided to be good and get their homework out of the way without needing prompting from their moms. Jude wasn't home yet, since he'd had a dentist appointment, but everyone else spread out their books on the dining room table and got to work. Lena was extremely impressed when she saw them - and a tad bit suspicious.

"Which one of you is going to be in trouble later?" she asked with a grin.

"Nobody," Jesus replied. "We just figured we'd get this stuff out of the way so we could enjoy the weekend."

"Uh-huh."

"We swear, Mama," Mariana added.

"Okay, okay. I'll leave you to your work." She headed upstairs.

Callie and Brandon were in the same math class, so they could help each other with the assignment. They were halfway done with their third problem when Brandon's cell phone started ringing. He pulled it from his pocket and found Talya's picture and number on the screen.

"Are you going to answer that?" Callie wondered when he didn't immediately take the call.

Brandon gave her a sheepish look. "Do you mind?"

"No, go ahead. I don't care." He got up and went over to the living room for some privacy. Callie sat back in her chair to wait. There was still an awkward triangle with her, Brandon, and Talya. At least the other girl had become a real friend after she revealed how bad things had actually gotten for her at Wyatt's Foreclosure Party. But every now and then, there was a little reminder of shoved aside feelings or lingering jealousy. Brandon's attempts to keep everyone happy usually just added to the awkwardness.

The front door opened and Stef came in with Jude. "Hi, babies," she called to the rest of the kids.

"Hey, Mom."

"How'd the dentist go?" Callie asked Jude.

"No cavities," he replied with a smile.

"Awesome."

"Oh, Callie, remind me," Stef told her, "Is your session this weekend on Saturday or Sunday?"

"Sunday," she replied. This was her third week of attending a new therapy program that Lena had managed to get her into. The whole thing was aimed at kids who were struggling with self-harm; it mixed individual or family sessions with group therapy where the teens could give each other support. So far, it seemed to be effective and Callie actually liked it.

"Okay, good," Stef replied. "There's enough going on already tomorrow."

Lena came downstairs. "Hey, babe," she told Stef as she went to give her a kiss. "I was just about to start on dinner."

"Need a hand?" her wife wondered.

Lena smiled. "Sure."

Callie saw that Brandon was still talking on the phone, so she got up and followed the moms into the kitchen. Stef smiled when she noticed her. "Hey, love, what's up?"

Callie's eyes were downcast. "I had something that I'd been thinking about the past few weeks…"

The moms exchanged a look. "Should we be sitting down?" Lena wondered, assuming they were about to find out why the kids were all being so good.

However, Callie shook her head. "No, it's not bad... I was just thinking after we talked about me going to college. I think I know what I want to study. I'd like to be a counselor, for people who have been abused or assaulted."

Stef and Lena smiled. It was really encouraging to see the positive effect that finally dealing with her trauma was having on their daughter. "That sounds like a good idea," Lena told her.

"You really think so?" Callie timidly asked. "Even if I'm a head case myself?"

"You are not a head case," Stef told her. "And I think you will be an example for others that it is possible to work through their problems, just like you are doing. If you want, I can put you in touch with a couple of the counselors I know from work. They can give you a good idea of what they do day-to-day. Not to discourage you, but it is a challenging job. As I'm sure you can imagine, they see and hear some very tough things. So if you have any questions..."

Callie nodded. "That would be good, thanks. I've started looking at what the requirements are, so I know what I'd need to do in college."

"And also make sure you take any prerequisites you need in high school," Lena pointed out.

Callie frowned. "Oh. I didn't think about that."

She smiled. "If you want, I can help with research when you're picking out your classes for junior year."

"Okay."

Brandon came in the room, looking around for Callie. "Oh, hey, there you are. Ready to get back to work?"

She nodded. "Sure," she replied as she followed him back to the dining room.

Stef smiled at Lena once they were alone. "That girl is something," she told her wife. "She'd be perfectly justified if she decided to curl up in a corner and ignore the rest of the world. But instead..."

Lena nodded. "Yeah. Our little fighter doesn't quit. And speaking of her and Jude being ours, I got a call from Brianna Cole today." That was the lawyer that had handled the twins' adoption five years earlier and now was working on Callie and Jude's.

"What did she say?" Stef wondered.

"Things are moving along. She's thinking it will only be a few more weeks."

"Wow. She's working miracles."

"Well, it helps that this time parental rights for the kids have already been terminated." Callie and Jude's father had lost his rights to them years ago when he was convicted and incarcerated. It had been much more complicated with the twins.

"I'll be so glad when it's done," Stef said. "They're already ours in our hearts, but once everything's signed, nobody will have the ability to tell us otherwise."

"Exactly."

"Should we tell them at dinner what Brianna said?"

Lena's eyebrows knitted. "I don't know. I was kind of hoping we could surprise them when we finally get word about their court date. I know Callie, at least, is already pretty anxious about how things are going to go. I don't want to add to that."

"True. It could be a really nice surprise for them. For all the kids, really."

* * *

A little while later, the moms called everyone into the kitchen to help with setting the table and getting dinner together. Just as they were all finding a seat at the table and starting to fill their plates, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Lena said since Stef was in the middle of cutting up a pan of lasagna.

She left the room, but came back a minute later. "Who was it?" Stef asked.

Lena reached for the spatula she was using to serve the lasagna. "I'll take care of this," she told her wife. "You've got a visitor." Stef frowned, but Lena wasn't being any more forthcoming.

When Stef walked up the steps out of the kitchen, she was surprised to see her father waiting for her by the front door. She and Frank hadn't spoken since the wedding about a month earlier. "Hey. What's going on?"

"I, um…. I guess I should have called before coming over. Didn't mean to interrupt your dinner again."

"That's okay. Is something wrong?"

"No, no, I just… I got a few tickets for the Padres game on Sunday. I thought it might be something I could do with the boys. I know it's last minute, but…"

"Oh. Thank you; I'm sure they'll be excited to go."

Frank handed her three tickets. "I thought I'd take your advice, include everybody." Stef remembered telling him a few months earlier that he shouldn't just think of Jesus, their biggest sports fan, when he was planning to go to a game. She was glad to see that Brandon and Jude were invited, too, even if his attempt at inclusion had excluded all of the women in the family. Baby steps.

"Thanks." An uncomfortable silence lingered for a few moments. "Did you want to talk about anything else?" Stef wondered.

Frank shook his head. "I should let you get back to your dinner. I'll pick the boys up at 11 on Sunday?"

"Okay."

With a final nod, he turned and left. Stef sighed as she went to re-lock the door. She couldn't decide whether she was looking for something from her father or not. Would hearing the thought process behind his absence from her wedding make her feel better or worse? All she could tell herself was that at least he appeared to be interested in staying in contact with his grandchildren, even if he seemed to be abandoning his relationship with his daughter.

* * *

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks so much for the feedback on the first chapter! I'm so happy that I continue to be inspired by this amazing show.**

* * *

The kids kept the moms busy for the rest of the evening, so they didn't get a chance to start going through bills and other mail until after everyone was in bed. They sat together at the dining room table to work.

"So… Frank's taking the boys to a baseball game?" Lena casually asked her wife.

"Yep."

"You okay with that?"

"Sure."

"Really?"

Stef sighed, leaning back in her chair. "I don't know. It's nice for the kids that he got the tickets, but… I don't know why I keep getting my hopes up that things will be different with us. He made his thoughts about me and my life pretty clear when he didn't show up for our wedding."

"I know you were disappointed," Lena said.

"Actually, I'm not sure what I was. I mean, I'm the one that told him not to come."

"You told him not to come if he wasn't totally ready to support you," Lena pointed out. "Of course you wished he that he WOULD come because you were wishing he'd get over himself."

"But I don't know why I'd expect it after all this time." Stef had spent so many years hoping for her father's approval, but knew it had been one of the costs of being true to herself. She had proudly grown up as a Daddy's Girl, but she wasn't his little fishing buddy anymore and it had taken too long to realize that his attitude was poisoning her life. Even now, she hated how much he could still hurt her. "If being here and seeing us for all these years hasn't been enough to convince him that our love and our family is just as valid as anyone else's… I don't know what will."

"Maybe he HAS started to question what he believed about us," Lena quietly suggested, "And this little Padres outing is his way of trying to show it."

"I'd rather he just say it instead."

Lena smiled. "Well, you come by your stubbornness honestly, honey."

Stef cut her eyes at her, and Lena gave an innocent grin in return. "I know we've already told the boys about the game, but… do you think letting them spend the time with Dad is a bad idea?"

"He's their grandfather," Lena replied. "He does love them."

"Mmm."

"He's never really said anything about us that upset them, and even if he does… they can handle it. They know that our family is real and valid and beautiful and that's what really matters, right?"

Stef nodded. "Right."

* * *

In the morning, when Callie woke up, she decided to try some cooking therapy. By the time the moms came into the kitchen, they were amazed to see what she'd done.

"Are those crepes?" Lena asked as she looked over Callie's shoulder at the pan in her hands.

"Mmm-hmm," she replied. "To be topped with Nutella and raspberries."

"Oooh, j'adore," Lena said with a smile.

Callie frowned. "Huh?"

"She's taking Spanish in school, not French," Stef reminded her wife.

"Oh well. Thank you, sweetheart," she told Callie. "Do you need help with anything?"

"Nah, I think I've got it," she replied as she put another finished crepe onto her stack. "I just gotta do the scrambled eggs last. There's coffee on the counter, by the way."

Stef was already reaching to pour herself a cup. "I knew I wasn't just imagining that smell."

A few minutes later, the rest of the kids started trickling into the kitchen. "Oh, yum!" Mariana cried when she saw the container of raspberries on the table.

"You want to put plates out for me?" Callie asked her.

"Sure," she said as she started getting together plates and silverware.

Jesus and Jude were next; the younger of the two was still sleepily rubbing his eyes. "Morning, sunshine," Stef teased him as she tousled his hair.

Jude smiled. "Morning."

"What's for breakfast?" Jesus asked.

"Crepes and eggs, courtesy of Callie," Lena replied.

"Nice."

Jude's eyebrows knitted as he looked at the serving plates on the table. "Our mom would make these," he recalled. "Didn't she?"

Callie looked over at him in surprise. "You remember that?"

He nodded. "I think so."

Stef smiled. "Sounds like a good family tradition to keep going," she suggested. They'd never try to get the Jacobs siblings to forget their biological parents. Part of making their family work was acknowledging their children's pasts. The bad parts were often the most evident, but the good parts deserved just as much attention.

Callie was quiet for a long moment, but finally nodded. "Thanks."

* * *

After breakfast, Stef left with Jesus and Mariana to drop them off at the movies and the mall, respectively. Jude disappeared upstairs to clean his half of his room before Connor came over to work on a homework project.

"It wouldn't kill you two to go clean up, either," Lena teased Callie and Brandon as they sat down in the living room to watch TV.

Brandon shrugged. "Why? Connor doesn't need to see my room." Lena swatted him on the shoulder before she went upstairs.

"You're hanging out with your dad later on, right?" Callie asked him.

"Yeah. Batting cages and dinner."

"It's good that you guys are okay again."

"Yeah. As long as he keeps trying to stay sober."

"I think you give him a reason to." It was hard for Callie not to compare Mike to her own father - and so far, even with his faults, Mike was winning.

However, Brandon shook his head. "I don't want it to be about me," he explained. "I mean, I'm glad he cares what I think, but he needs to get better for himself."

Callie nodded. "That makes sense."

When the doorbell rang a half hour later, Brandon started to get up to answer it. Then they heard Jude yell, "I've got it!" from upstairs. A moment later, he came running down the steps.

"Whoa, take it easy, bud," Callie told him.

Jude gave her a sheepish smile and took a second to calm himself before he opened the door. "Hi, Connor," he greeted his best friend.

"Hey, Jude. What's up?"

"Not too much," he replied as he closed the door. "I'm gonna go to a baseball game tomorrow."

"Padres?" Connor asked. Jude nodded. "Cool."

"Yeah, I've never been to a game before."

"You're going to have fun," Connor promised as they headed for the steps. "I've gone to a bunch with my dad."

"I was wondering," Brandon said to Callie once the younger boys were upstairs, "Do you care that the invite for the game was just for me and Jesus and Jude?"

Callie shrugged. "Sports are supposed to be a guy thing, right?"

"Sure, if you're still living in the 50s. I know my grandpa's kind of… old-fashioned about some things. He probably just assumed you're a girly-girl like Mariana."

Callie smirked. "Not really."

"Yeah. You'd think after raising my mom, he'd know that girls aren't all like that. But I guess Mariana is his idea of 'normal' and she's never had any interest in baseball. I don't either, really, but it should be fun."

"Should be."

"Once he gets to know you better, I'm sure he'll include you in stuff, too."

She shrugged again. "I don't really care either way, I guess. I know you need 'guy time' or whatever sometimes. It'll be good for Jude to get to hang out with you and Jesus. I think you'll be good big brothers for him to grow up with."

Brandon smiled. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to it, too. We'll all get this family thing figured out eventually, right?"

She laughed a little. "Yeah."

* * *

Connor and Jude had teamed up for their World History project. They were currently studying the Middle Ages and had to make a poster about feudal manors.

"The serfs will live in this area," Connor decided, pointing to one corner of their mostly-blank poster board. He drew a brown line across the paper. "They'll be on this end of the road, and then there can be the mill and the bakery and all that for the town."

"Okay," Jude agreed. He'd mainly been letting the other boy take the lead with the project. Usually when they worked on homework, Connor figured things out faster. He was a pretty good student in everything except math. Jude would occasionally get up the courage to chime in and then hope he didn't sound too stupid. Sometimes he had no idea why someone as nice and smart and cool as Connor wanted to hang out with him.

"The fields are gonna be over here, right?" Connor asked, pointing to another open section of their poster.

Jude nodded and reached for a green marker. "Yeah." He drew an outline of the area. "What if we glued on real grass to make it look like a field?"

"That'll look cool," Connor agreed. "Good idea!"

Jude beamed, so happy that he'd made a useful suggestion. And in that moment, he found himself unable to resist a sudden impulse to lean over and give Connor a kiss on the cheek. They were sitting right next to each other and it seemed so natural. But he felt his friend tense and knew that he'd made a horrible mistake.

"What was that?" Connor asked as he wiped at his face with his hand.

Jude was horrified. "I-I'm sorry," he stuttered.

Connor just stared at him in surprise and confusion. After a seemingly eternal moment of silence, he started putting his things back into his bookbag. "I should go."

"No, wait! I didn't mean to do that," Jude told him.

But Connor didn't stop. With nothing more than a quick, "See ya later," he fled the room.

Jude put his head in his hands as he cried. What had he done?!

* * *

**TBC...**


	3. Chapter 3

Brandon had already left to meet his dad, but Callie was still in the living room when Connor went flying out the front door. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked the younger boy, but the only answer she got was the sound of the door closing behind him. Callie got up and looked up the staircase, but there was no sign of her brother.

"Jude?" she called as she got to the second floor. His and Jesus' bedroom was empty. "Jude, where are you?" She realized the bathroom doors were shut, and trying to open them revealed that they were locked. "Jude, are you okay? Jude!"

"Go away," he tearfully called.

"Are you hurt? What happened?"

"Leave me alone!"

"I can't do that, buddy. Talk to me." Jude finally opened the door, and Callie's heart clenched at the sight of the tears running down his face. "What happened?"

That started a fresh flow of tears. "I screwed up," Jude admitted.

"How?"

He turned away and went over to sit in the empty bathtub. Callie closed the door behind her and just waited for him to be ready. Unable to look her in the eye, Jude started running his fingers over the turtle stickers on the wall. "I was working on my project with Connor, and I… I kissed him. I didn't mean to; it just happened!"

"Oh, Jude…"

He cried harder. "I'm sorry!"

Callie climbed into the tub along with him. "There is nothing you have to be sorry for. There's nothing for you to be ashamed of. You are who you are, and I'll love you no matter what."

"Connor ran away."

Callie sighed. That was a problem she had no idea how to fix. "He was probably really surprised," she tried to reassure her brother.

Jude sniffled. "He doesn't like me back."

"You don't know that."

He shook his head. "No, I know. He turned around and ran so fast… I bet he hates me." The thought made him feel sick. "He's my best friend and now I ruined everything!"

* * *

Callie stayed with Jude for a little bit longer, trying to comfort him, but she knew that she was out of her depth. However, she also knew exactly who to turn to for help. "I'll be back in a minute, okay?" she told Jude as she started to get up.

"Where are you going?"

"To find Stef and Lena... Is it okay if I tell them?"

Jude shrugged. "They can't fix me either."

Callie kissed his forehead. "You're not broken. I'll be back."

% ^ % ^ % % ^ % ^ %

The moms were in the kitchen getting started on dinner when Callie got downstairs. "Can we talk?" she asked them, a little bit hesitant.

"Sure, love, what's up?" Stef replied.

"Um… It's actually Jude that needs you, not me."

Lena frowned. "Is he okay?"

"Not exactly… I've known for a while that Jude's different, since before I even realized why. And I knew that someday, he would realize it, too."

"Today's the day?" Stef softly asked. Callie nodded. "What happened?"

"He tried to kiss Connor. And it did not go well."

Lena sighed. "Yeah, life can suck sometimes." She looked over at Stef, and they had a short conversation just with their eyes. In the end, Lena nodded slightly. Based on her own experience, she could relate a little easier to their pre-teen foster son. "I'll go talk to him," she assured Callie.

"Thanks," she replied. "He's in the bathroom."

Stef took her foster daughter's hand once they were alone. "Are YOU okay?" she asked. Callie looked a little pale and shaky.

"I don't know…" she said with a sigh. Stef went to get her some water. "I knew this was coming eventually, I just didn't expect it to be now. I mean, I can protect him from bad foster parents or kids that bully him, but... I can't protect his heart."

Stef put down the glass and squeezed her hands. "He'll be okay," she promised. "He may be hurting now, but… the good thing about hearts is that they can heal."

* * *

Upstairs, Lena knocked on the bathroom door. "Jude?" she called, "It's Lena; can I come in?" She heard the lock click on the door. As she opened it, she saw that Jude was climbing back into the bathtub. "Hi, there."

"Hi," he replied as he curled up with his knees underneath his chin. "Callie told you?"

"Mmm-hmm. She's worried about you."

He sighed. "I feel like such a freak."

"You are definitely not a freak," Lena assured him as she sat down on the edge of the tub. "I know that right now you feel different from everybody else, but you have to remember that there are lots of people in the same boat. Including me and Stef."

"That's different," Jude told her. "You're girls. But boys really aren't supposed to like boys."

"Yeah, well, there are people out there who don't look too kindly upon girls liking girls, either. But nobody is 'supposed to' do anything other than what makes them happy." Jude didn't answer. "You know, you're a lot braver than I am."

He scoffed. "No, I'm not."

"You are! I was too scared to ever tell my first crush anything about how I felt."

Jude looked up with one eyebrow raised. Both of his foster mothers had always seemed so strong and fearless. "Really?"

"Really. I still remember her - Megan Tolliver. And I remember the way I felt. She was so beautiful and popular and I was just this gangly klutz and always had my nose in a book. She didn't even know I existed."

"You never told her anything?" Jude wondered.

"Nope. And then she started dating one of the football players and I was so upset."

Jude sighed. "So she wouldn't have liked you back, either?"

"Probably not. I wondered sometimes in high school and college if there was something wrong with me, why I couldn't find the right person to love me."

"But then you met Stef," Jude pointed out.

Lena smiled. "Eventually, I met Stef," she agreed, "And I wouldn't trade our life together for anything in the world... You'll find the same thing someday. And whether they're a girl or a boy won't matter because you'll love each other for who you are."

"I wish I'd already found him," he muttered.

She smiled. "When it's really love, it's worth the wait. Sometimes now I think maybe life isn't easy so that we can really appreciate the good things. And then we're able to help someone else when they're going through hard parts."

Jude looked back down at his knees. "Do…" he started to ask, but then trailed off.

Lena took his hand. "What is it?"

He took a deep breath. "Do you think that the people on TV are right?" Jude quietly asked. "That God hates us and we're going to Hell?"

She shook her head. "Not for a second. God wouldn't have made us this way if it wasn't okay."

"My first mom is in Heaven," he explained, "And I want to see her again. But I've been scared that I won't if I'm gay."

"Oh, sweetheart…" Lena knelt beside the tub and pulled Jude into her arms as he started crying again. It was stunning how much pain a few ignorant, spiteful people could cause. "You're going to see her again."

"Do you promise?" he whimpered.

"I promise. You are going to live a long, wonderful life, and then you'll go to Heaven where she'll be waiting." She let Jude calm back down, waiting for his sobs to turn into sniffles. "How long have you been keeping all of this to yourself?" Lena softly wondered.

He shrugged. "I don't know… For a while. I didn't want it to be true because I was afraid."

"I wish you'd said something, sweetheart. You don't have to be scared. Your mom is looking down on you and Callie every day, and I know there's nothing that makes her happier than when you're happy."

"You didn't know her," Jude pointed out.

Lena smiled a little sadly. "I know," she told him as she and brushed his hair back. "But that's the first rule of being a mom."

* * *

**TBC...**

**A/N: I know I got at least one request that Stef be the one to help Jude, but I thought Lena was a better fit. Sorry!**


	4. Chapter 4

Jude eventually came out of the bathroom, although he then just went and curled up on his bed. Callie took a plate upstairs for him with dinner and sat with him while he ate. Once Brandon got home from his afternoon with his dad, Stef pulled him and the twins into the living room for a talk.

"I'm telling you this because I want you to be prepared in case it becomes a problem at school," she explained to Brandon, Jesus, and Mariana as they sat on the couch. "There was a little issue with Jude and Connor this afternoon. If he wants to share the details, I'll leave that up to him, but… long story short, Jude came out."

"Way to go, little man," Jesus murmured with a smile.

"He likes Connor?" Brandon deduced.

Stef nodded. "And it sounds like that's a one-way street. Connor's always seemed like a nice boy, but we're not sure how he's going to react. Considering that he is Jude's main friend at Anchor Beach… school could get rough for him."

"He's his only friend," Mariana corrected her. "Poor Jude."

"Yeah," Stef agreed. "He's going to need everybody's support. So… do any of you have anything you want to talk about?"

They all shrugged. "Did you think we'd have a problem?" Brandon asked.

"I didn't think so, but I wanted to have a chance to discuss it with you."

"Come on, Mom," Jesus protested. "Why would we care? He's still our little brother."

Stef smiled. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry."

"We'll look out for him at school," Brandon promised.

"Yeah," Jesus agreed. "If any kid tries to mess with him, I'll knock 'em out."

"Uh, no, you won't," Stef told him. "I don't want to hear about any of you getting suspended, understand? Throwing punches never makes a situation better."

"Sometimes they really deserve it, though," Jesus argued.

Stef didn't disagree. "There's no way that we're going to be able to be with Jude 24/7," she explained. "So, as hard as it is to acknowledge, he's going to have to be able to stand up for himself."

"You could always put him in karate classes," Jesus suggested. "They helped me." Stef and Lena had enrolled him at a local dojo when he was a little younger than Jude was now. The classes had done wonders for his self-esteem and helped him deal with kids that bullied him about his ADHD and other difficulties in school.

"That's a good idea," Stef replied. "Mama and I will talk about it. If you've got other suggestions, let us know."

* * *

Extracurriculars for Jude wasn't the only topic that the moms had to discuss that night once all of the kids were in bed. "I just realized," Lena spoke up as she and Stef cuddled in bed, "Our house rules for the kids are totally biased."

"What do you mean?"

"We've never let Brandon, Jesus, or Callie bring Talya, Lexi, or Wyatt up to their rooms if one of us wasn't on this floor, too. But we never gave it a second thought when Jude would have Connor over."

Stef's eyes widened. "Crap."

"I'd like to say that I just figured he was too young, but…"

"That's a cop out."

"Exactly... Did you ever think one of our kids would be gay?" Lena wondered.

"I don't know. I guess I wasn't expecting it, but… The only thing concerning me right now is that I understand what he's facing." Her struggle with coming out had been more recent than her wife's and she felt like she had been left with more scars.

"Yeah," Lena agreed. "He's going to have to figure out how to accept himself like we accept him." She had already told Stef about her conversation with Jude and his fears over coming out.

"I don't want him to go through what I did," Stef decided. "We need to be careful about who we let into his life. I don't want any teachers or tutors or coaches or anything that are going to start telling him he needs to be someone other than himself."

Lena frowned. "I thought I just overheard you a little bit ago telling Brandon and the twins that Jude needs to be able to stand up for himself?"

"Against other kids is one thing. But you know that he's always looking for approval from adults. I'm not going to let anyone damage him like…"

"Like your father did to you?" Lena gently asked.

Stef sighed. "Yeah."

"I think his best protection has got to come from inside of himself," Lena countered. "There are a lot of bigots out there, babe. He can't avoid all of them. But if he's happy with himself, what they think and say will matter less."

Stef was quiet for a long moment. "I keep thinking," she finally said, "What if they weren't here?"

"Callie and Jude?"

She nodded. "What if they hadn't found a home yet where they're safe and accepted? What could happen to him, then?" They already knew that both of their foster children had already been physically abused. "What's happening to other kids around this country - or the world - when they suddenly realize who they are and there's no one to support them?"

Lena curled up at Stef's side. "We can't save them all, my love."

"I know. But that doesn't make me feel any better."

* * *

When they woke up in the morning, the moms had a new issue to figure out: whether to let the boys go to the baseball game or not.

"Jude seemed a little bit better at bedtime," Lena pointed out as they sat in the kitchen, nursing cups of coffee. "He was smiling some, at least. I think he feels secure with Brandon and Jesus. It can't hurt to ask him whether he feels up to it or not. Might take his mind off of things for a while."

"True. I guess the best way to let him know that nothing's different for any of us is to have life go on."

"Yeah. And just support him as needed."

"I'm still a little worried about my dad. If he makes any of his stupid little comments, Jude is going to be more sensitive than the older boys will be."

"I know… but it's not fair to Brandon and Jesus to keep all of them home, and it's not fair to Jude to force him to be the only one to stay home. If he feels like going, the older boys can look out for him."

Stef nodded. "Okay. We'll ask after breakfast what he wants to do."

* * *

Upstairs, Jude was looking for Callie, but when he came into the girls' room, Mariana was the only one there. She was painting her fingernails; Jude noticed that five different bottles of nail polish were sitting on her nightstand next to her bed.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Mariana held up her finished right hand. "Just doing my nails. You like them?" Each finger was a different color - red, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

"Why are they all different?" Jude wondered.

"I always do them like this when we go to the Pride Rally. I'm missing a color, I know, but I've only got five fingers."

Callie came back in from the bathroom. "Morning, Jude," she greeted her brother.

"Hi," he said before instantly turning his attention back to Mariana. "What's the Pride Rally?"

"You've never been?"

Jude shook his head. "Is it today?"

"No, it's still a few weeks away."

"Then why are you painting your nails today?"

Callie looked over and realized what their foster sister was doing. She and Mariana shared a little smile. Sometimes the younger girl could be a brat, but sometimes she was a very good sister.

"It doesn't have to be Pride Weekend in order to have pride," Mariana told Jude.

"Pride for what?" he asked, still not understanding.

"For you, buddy," Callie softly explained. It was an enormous weight off of her shoulders to know that her new siblings loved her brother just like she did.

Jude was quiet for a long moment, just thinking as he watched Mariana finish her left hand. "Do you want me to paint your nails, too?" she asked him.

He hesitated. "I don't know…" He'd liked wearing the nail polish before, but knew Callie had worried about what other people might do or say. Now that his secret had been revealed, did he need to be worried, too? Would being out make his life easier or harder?

Callie didn't like hearing doubt in her brother's voice. Even though she thought Jude needed to be smart about not provoking closed-minded people, she never wanted him to be ashamed for who he was. "Can you do mine?" she asked Mariana.

"Sure."

Callie smiled at Jude. "You can be next," she told her little brother as she sat on Mariana's bed.

Jude kept watching them for a moment. Having both of his sisters wear a symbol of support for him meant a lot. Some little part of him had always feared that there'd be exceptions when Callie said she'd love him no matter what. So far, though, her promise had been absolute.

With a little smile, he sat down at her side. "Okay. I want my nails done, too." Callie smiled and ruffled his hair.

* * *

**TBC...**

**A/N: Yes, I know I took some liberties with timing; the 2013 San Diego Pride Weekend was in mid-July, only a couple weeks after the Supreme Court struck down DOMA and Prop 8 (not over a month later, like I'm saying in the story). But if the real writers can have the kids still be in school by July... I can make a couple adjustments myself. ;-)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: As always, thanks for the feedback that everyone's been sending. You guys have made a rough week a bit better.**

* * *

After the family had eaten breakfast, Brandon, Jesus, and Callie ran upstairs to get dressed for their respective busy days. Mariana didn't have any plans, so she lounged on the couch in front of the TV. Jude was already dressed and ambled around the backyard, lost in his own world. Lena and Stef watched him through the kitchen window as they finished cleaning up. Once they were done, they also went outside.

"Hey, Jude. You have a sec?" Stef asked.

He climbed down from his favorite tree. "Okay."

The three of them sat down together at the patio table. "We were just wondering if you felt okay to go to the game today?" Lena asked.

"You don't have to go," Stef added. "If you just want to hang out here with us for the day, that's perfectly fine."

Jude shrugged slightly. "I want to go… It should be fun, right?"

They nodded. "Yeah, we think you'll have a good time with your brothers," Stef agreed.

Lena pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and handed it to Jude. "Take this with you, okay? We've been meaning to get another phone added to our plan. But at least for today… if you want to talk or if you're feeling uncomfortable and want to come home, just call Stef's cell."

He nodded. "Okay. Thank you."

* * *

As soon as they arrived at Petco Park, Jesus knew they were going to have a great day. Stef had quietly warned him and Brandon to look out for Jude, but Jesus didn't think their little brother would have any problems. He was wide-eyed as they got off the trolley, looking up at the stadium.

"Wow," the younger boy whispered.

Jesus laughed. "Just wait until we get inside."

Once they'd reached the main level, they stopped at a concession stand to pick up some snacks. Jude decided to get a hot dog, and then he and Frank watched in awe as Brandon and Jesus ordered popcorn, nachos, hot dogs, peanuts, and sodas.

"Are you really going to eat all of that?" Frank asked them as the girl behind the counter put all of their food on a tray. He'd only gotten some peanuts and a soda for himself.

Brandon shrugged. "Moms said that we could eat whatever we wanted."

"As long as you don't go running to them when you throw up later," Jude added in the rest of Stef's warning.

"Yeah, whatever," Jesus told him. "We can handle it."

"What section are we in again?" Brandon asked his grandfather once they all had their food and condiments.

"121," Frank replied after he checked his ticket. "Field level."

"Does that mean we'll be really close to the players?" Jude wondered.

Frank smiled. He hadn't spent much time with Jude before that day, but was enjoying his soon-to-be grandson's enthusiasm. It seemed Stef had been right about inviting all of the boys. "We'll be as close as I can afford."

* * *

When they walked out into the stands, Brandon almost ran into Jude from behind when the younger boy unexpectedly stopped. "Hey!" he exclaimed before he realized that his little brother was frozen in surprise, staring at his surroundings. There was always something magical about entering a baseball stadium for the first time.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Jesus asked with a grin from his spot behind Brandon.

"Very cool," Jude agreed.

They found their seats, and started eating while they waited for the game to begin. As Jude unwrapped his hot dog, Frank noticed the rainbow-colored nail polish on his fingers. "You kids get some crazy ideas these days," he commented with a smile.

Brandon and Jesus looked over to see what he was talking about. They were pretty sure that Frank didn't understand the significance of the rainbows on his hands, but they did. "Did Mariana do that?" Jesus asked.

Jude nodded. "She did hers and Callie's, too."

Brandon smiled. "She's starting Pride Weekend early this year. Nice."

"She was telling me about that," Jude explained. "I didn't know anything about it. But I want to go."

Jesus nodded. "I can't wait. It's going to be the biggest party ever this year, with DOMA and Prop 8 finally going down."

"Do you all go every year?" Jude wondered.

"Yeah," Brandon replied. "That's where Moms met Kelly and Jenna a long, long time ago. We've made a few new friends there over the years, too."

"Cool."

Frank looked toward the scoreboard, wondering how soon the game would start. He wasn't too comfortable with the topic of conversation; he'd voted for Proposition 8, although now he wasn't sure what he believed. But he knew he ought to make an effort to keep talking with the boys. There'd been enough damage to his relationship with his daughter and he didn't want the same to happen with his grandchildren. "I've seen video from that parade on the news," he told the boys. "Lots of people in those crazy costumes riding down the street."

Brandon shrugged. "There aren't THAT many people in costumes. But they are fun to see."

"Yeah, some of them are super creative," Jesus added. "And they're telling everyone that they're proud to be themselves, no matter what anybody else thinks. And that's totally fine; nobody there judges anybody."

"Other than judging the parade float competition," Brandon chimed in with a grin. Jesus laughed.

Jude smiled as he settled back into his seat. The rally and parade seemed better than Christmas to him. "I can't wait."

Frank had never been happier to see the players start running out on the field. "Oh, here we go," he told the boys, and their attention switched to the game.

* * *

Callie was also out of the house for the afternoon since she had therapy. Stef drove her over to the medical complex where the sessions were held. When the car stopped in the parking lot, Callie remained in her seat for a long moment. "I'm sorry," she finally said.

Stef looked at her, confused. "What?"

"I know you and Lena have been worried about me - worried if I was gonna hurt myself again. I'm sorry."

"Did something happen?" Stef quietly asked.

Callie shook her head. "I didn't do anything. But…" she bit her lip, "There was a moment, when Jude was locked in the bathroom yesterday… I was so terrified that he might be doing something to himself."

Stef's stomach dropped. Neither she nor Lena had considered that possible outcome to the afternoon. "Oh, jeez."

"I'd never known what that felt like before," Callie continued. "But I figure you're scared for me like that all the time."

"We know that you're doing everything you can to make us less worried," Stef assured her.

"I am," Callie promised. "I want to be better."

"And we're very proud of you." They shared a little smile.

"Anyway, I guess I should head inside," Callie said as she reached for the door handle. As she started to get out, Stef stopped her.

"Hey, Cal?" The teen turned around. "Do you think we need to be worried about Jude?" There had been so many stories of gay teens taking their own lives. She couldn't imagine Jude getting to that point, but on the other hand, she assumed the other kids' parents had been blindsided, too.

Callie shook her head. "I don't think so. He's always been a tough little guy… stronger than me."

"You are amazingly strong," Stef argued.

"Still. I think he'll be okay now. This is why I wanted him to stay with you and Lena no matter what; this is the home and family that he needs."

"You've taken great care of him, too," Stef assured her.

Callie shrugged. "Sort of. I tried, at least… I should go."

Stef nodded. "See you later."

* * *

After the Padres managed to pull out a win, Frank and the boys stopped by the gift shop for a couple small souvenirs and to give a little time for the stadium traffic to start to clear.

By the time they got back to the Foster house, Brandon, Jesus, and Jude were still amped up from the victory. As they stood in the entryway, all three started talking at the same time to tell Lena and Stef what had happened. Both moms were happy to see they'd had a good time, especially Jude.

"Okay, slow down," Lena told her sons with a laugh. "What happened in the sixth inning?" She wasn't as big of a baseball fan as her wife, but didn't mind hearing their recap.

"The Rockies were trying to tie it up," Jesus explained. "The bases were loaded. But then Cabrera made the most AMAZING catch."

"It was awesome," Jude agreed. Brandon nodded.

Frank caught his daughter's eye. "Can we talk for a minute?" he asked her. Stef nodded and motioned to go out on the front porch.

"What's up?" she wondered as she closed the door behind them. "Did they behave themselves?"

"Oh, no, they were fine. I um… There were some things said, and I was just wondering… Is Jude gay?"

Stef was taken aback for a moment. "I'm not really sure if that's your business, Dad."

Frank slowly nodded; that was close enough to a yes for him. "Is that why you two are racing to adopt him and Callie?"

"What?"

"None of the other kids are, right?" he wondered. "I'm just trying to understand; were you looking for a child that's like you?"

Now she was on the defensive. "No, Dad, we weren't. Fostering and now adopting Callie and Jude wasn't something that we'd originally planned on at all. But they needed somebody to take care of them and we're adopting them because we love them no matter who they are."

"I'm sorry. I'm just trying… I'm doing my best to understand this life you've chosen - "

"I didn't choose this life!" Stef cut him off, unable to take it any longer. "My life chose me, and I have no idea how I was so lucky! I met my soulmate purely by chance and we have had eleven wonderful years together. During that time, four beautiful, incredible, hurting children have made their way so deep into my heart that I don't know what I would do without them. And sure, I instead could have just kept doing what everyone else expected of me. I could have chosen to turn away from them and denied myself the amazing gift of their love. But then I would be like you!"

Frank simply stared at her for a long moment. "I… I think I'm going home," he finally said before turning toward his car. And Stef just watched him go.

* * *

**TBC...**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: For those who asked about getting to see the Pride Rally - it's coming! Thanks to everybody for your comments/ideas.**

* * *

When Stef came back inside, all Lena had to do was look at her face and she knew something had gone very wrong. "Did you guys take pictures on your phones during the game?" she asked the boys.

"Yeah, a bunch," Jesus told her.

"Can you copy them to my laptop so we can all look at them later?" She pointed to where her computer was sitting in the kitchen. "Mom and I are going to work on laundry for a bit."

"Okay."

Stef took Lena's hand as they walked up the stairs together. "Thank you," she told her wife.

"I know that look. What happened?"

She didn't say anything until they were in their room with the door shut. And then the whole story came pouring out. "I'm done with him," Stef proclaimed at the end. "I'm done."

"Maybe that was what you've needed to get off your chest all these years," Lena suggested. "I mean, you've normally always just kinda let him think the stuff he thinks."

"I always hoped that maybe if I gave him enough time, he'd be different."

"I think he is different. He's never started asking questions like that before."

Stef shook her head. "It's still the same crap underneath, though. We're not some new species on National Geographic. We're just people, and we deserve to be treated like it." She sighed. "I can't wait anymore, Lena. I can't put myself through it and I don't want to put our kids through it."

Lena wrapped her arms around her wife. "Okay. What are we going to tell the kids about him?"

Stef greatly appreciated that she'd said 'we' instead of 'you'. "I don't know yet. Most of them already know where he stands on things. Jesus heard all about it at that disaster of a dinner."

"True… Are you really ready to cut Frank out of all of their lives?"

"I'm not ready to have them hear things like what he said to me."

"That's not an answer."

Stef sighed. "I know… I don't know what to do."

"Then how about we don't decide anything until you've really cooled off?"

She nodded, knowing her wife was right - and full-well knowing that Lena had just used her psychology degree on her. "Okay... The high road sucks, by the way."

Lena smiled. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

Callie had told the moms that she didn't need a ride when she got out of her therapy session. She was planning on catching a bus and told them it was because she was going to make a stop at a bookstore along the way home. However, she actually had another destination in mind.

She made her way to a small house a couple bus stops away from home. A middle-aged woman answered the door when she knocked and Callie offered her a smile. "Can I talk to Connor?" she asked.

"Sure. Connor!" his mother called through the house. He appeared in the doorway a minute later and froze for a second when he saw Callie.

"Hey," she greeted him.

"Hi," he nervously replied.

"You got a minute to talk?"

"Okay." Connor shut the door behind him and then leaned against the frame. His eyes were downcast. "Is Jude mad at me?" he quietly asked.

Callie was surprised. "No. He thinks that you're mad at him."

Connor sighed. "No. I'm just confused. I don't know what to do. I'm not gay, and I don't know if we should hang out anymore."

"Do you still want him to be your friend?"

"Yeah," Connor instantly replied. "He's my best friend. But... it's going to be weird now, isn't it?"

"It doesn't have to be," she replied, but Connor didn't look convinced. Callie took a deep breath. She was willing to take a risk for the sake of her brother's happiness. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Yeah."

"When I first came to the Fosters… Brandon and I had crushes on each other."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Which is definitely against the rules. We decided that having our family and keeping everyone together was the important thing. And it was a little awkward at first, but we wanted to stay friends enough that the other stuff didn't matter so much."

"Wow."

"Jude's not an idiot, Connor. If you're not interested in him, you're not interested. But him being gay shouldn't have anything to do with whether you're friends or not. And I think both of you really need each other as friends." He didn't answer. "At least think about it, okay?"

"Okay."

Callie nodded. "Thanks. See you in school."

* * *

When Callie got home, the whole family was in the kitchen pulling together dinner. "You are just in time to help," Lena told her.

"What are we having?"

"Lena's mac & cheese," Brandon told her, holding up a couple bags of shredded cheese.

"Shake 'n Bake chicken," Stef added. Jesus and Jude were working on that.

"I'm making my cranberry almond salad," Mariana finished.

"Sounds good," Callie told them. "What can I help with?"

"Can you cut up onions and stuff for me?" Mariana asked.

"Sure."

"Did you find what you needed at the bookstore?" Lena wondered as Callie joined her sister by the cutting board.

Callie shook her head. She wasn't entirely sure why she'd felt the need to deceive her foster mothers about her plan for the afternoon; it was a deeply ingrained habit since she'd always had to look out for her little brother. Finally having a home wasn't a magic fix for her childhood. "No, they didn't have it," she easily fibbed before changing the subject. "How was the game?" she asked the boys.

"Well, we won," Jesus happily replied.

Callie laughed. "I guess that's the important part."

"And nobody threw up," Jude added.

Lena looked at the older boys. There was only one reason Jude would make a comment like that. "How much junk did you two eat?"

Jesus shrugged. "Not enough to puke."

"And you're still hungry now?" Stef wondered.

Brandon nodded. "Yeah. Why?" She just rolled her eyes.

% ^ % ^ % % ^ % ^ %

Once everything was finished, the kids divided up the responsibilities for setting the table and serving plates. "Hey, Jude, can you get the ketchup out?" Jesus asked his little brother, who was closer to the fridge.

Lena glared at her son. "Really?"

"What?"

"You haven't even tasted the mac & cheese yet. How do you know it needs ketchup?"

Jesus shrugged. "Everything's better with ketchup."

"Mama's going to get payback one of these days," Mariana warned her twin. He didn't seem too worried.

"Does it really taste better?" Jude wondered as he put the ketchup on the table.

"See?" Lena told Jesus. "Now you're corrupting your little brother." Everyone laughed.

"It's even better with Tabasco," Stef told Jude and earned a glare of her own from her wife. "Hey! Just saying. But note that I'm eating it plain just for you, my love."

Lena rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh."

Stef was just about to sit down when her cell phone started ringing. "Hey, Callie?" she said, indicating for the teen to grab it off the counter and hand it to her. Stef frowned when she took the device and saw the number on the screen.

"Who is it?" Lena asked.

"I don't know." Stef was tempted to just ignore the call, but her gut told her not to. "Hello?" she answered. "Yes, this is she… Okay…" And then Lena and the kids watched as all color drained from her face. "O-okay. Thank you." She hung up and just stared at her phone for a long moment.

"What happened?" Lena wondered.

It took a minute for the question to register in her mind. "Um, that was someone from Scripps Hospital... My dad had a heart attack."

* * *

**TBC...**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: ****Thanks to everyone for your feedback! This chapter took a bit longer because I was **reworking it a lot. Having my mom in the hospital this week (thankfully, not for an emergency) got my writer's brain going.

* * *

"That was someone from Scripps Hospital... My dad had a heart attack."

There was absolute silence in the kitchen for what seemed like forever. And then all of the kids started talking at once.

"When?"

"What happened?"

"Is Grandpa going to be okay?"

"Can we go see him?"

Lena looked over at her wife, who appeared to still be in shock. She wasn't sure what Stef would want to do, given their earlier conversation about Frank. As the silence continued, Callie decided to take the lead. "Get shoes on," she told Jude, and Jesus followed him. "Let's put everything in the fridge," she added for Mariana. Brandon started getting out plastic containers and aluminum foil.

Lena grabbed Stef's arm and pulled her to the corner of the kitchen. "Are you okay?" she softly asked. Stef shook her head. "Are you okay with going to the hospital?"

"Yeah, we should go." She started looking around for her keys, but Lena grabbed them off the counter.

"You're not driving," she told her wife. There was no way Lena was going to let her get behind the wheel considering how out of it she currently seemed.

Stef just nodded. "Okay."

* * *

The ride to the hospital was tense and quiet. Stef seemed to come back to herself a bit along the way. Once they got to the emergency room and checked in at the desk, they found out that Frank was about to go in for surgery, but Stef could briefly see him beforehand. She quickly agreed; a few hours earlier, she'd been angry enough to cut her father out of her life. But now that there was a very real threat of losing him permanently… Her world had gone into a tailspin.

Frank was in a little curtained off section of the ER, and Stef froze when she saw him. He was pale and breathing laboriously despite the oxygen line that snaked under his nose. When she took his left hand in both of hers, his eyes fluttered open.

"Stef?" he wheezed.

"Yeah, Dad, I'm right here. You're going to be okay." Frank gave a little cough and mumbled something that she couldn't understand. "What?"

"You were right," he managed to get out on the second try. "I… I should have…" he took a few raspy breaths, "Taken better care… of myself."

"Shush," she told him. "You're going to be fine."

But he wasn't done. "You… you were right… about a lot of things… And I was wrong."

Stef shook her head. "Dad, it's okay. You don't have to do this right now. Just rest."

"I don't… don't know if... I'll get to do it later," he countered. "I was so afraid…"

Her eyes filled with tears. "Shh, Daddy. You'll be fine."

"So afraid that I wouldn't… get to talk to you again," he persisted. "My wonderful daughter… I may… I may figure things out… slower than you'd like… but I've always loved you, Stefanie... I'm in awe of... of what you've done... for those children... One day I… I hope I can earn back… your love a-and respect."

Stef bent over and kissed his forehead. "I've always loved you, Dad."

"I'm sorry."

"I know. Me, too."

For a moment, Frank choked on his words again, and Stef was about to push the button to call for a nurse. "I want…" he finally managed, but then his voice disappeared.

"What? What do you want?"

"Want to go with you... Rally... Pride."

Stef was confused for a moment. "You - you mean you want to go with us to the rally during Pride Weekend?"

Frank nodded. "Maybe I… I'll learn something… And I… support... my grandson. Better than... with you." He began coughing roughly, and one of the monitors started to beep repeatedly.

"We'd love for you to come," Stef assured him as she pressed the call button. "But you've got to hang on for that, okay? Daddy, please, you've gotta hang on."

A couple nurses ran in and started checking the monitors. "You're going to need to return to the waiting area," one of them told Stef.

"What's happening to him?" she wondered as she was forced to release her father's hand and step back.

"We have to get him into surgery immediately. Please return to the waiting area; someone will come talk to know when we know something."

* * *

The scene in the waiting room was all too familiar. Lena wished she had five arms; all of the kids looked like they needed hugs. Brandon and Mariana had ended up being in the seats on either side of her, while Callie, Jude, and Jesus sat together across from them. Everyone was tense and anxious.

"I hate hospitals," Jesus muttered at one point.

Lena unwrapped her arm from around Mariana's shoulders in order to reach over and squeeze his hand. "I know, sweetheart. Me, too… Are you guys hungry?" she asked, realizing that they hadn't actually eaten dinner. "I think I've got some singles for the vending machines."

Callie shook her head when no one else responded. "We're fine."

"Mom's been gone a while," Brandon pointed out. "Do you think that means Grandpa's doing really bad?"

"I don't know," Lena admitted. "I'm sure she'll tell us what's going on when she comes back."

Jude reached over and put a hand on his foster brother's knee. "He'll be okay," he told Brandon, trying to echo the comfort that his foster siblings had given him when Callie was missing. "He has to get better, right?"

Brandon tried to force a little smile. "Right."

Stef came down the hallway toward them, and Brandon instantly got to his feet when he saw her. "How is he?" he asked his mother. Everyone else also got up.

"Um… He was awake and talking… They had to take him in for surgery."

"Do the doctors think he'll be okay?" Jesus wondered.

"They… they're doing the best they can," was all Stef finally said. There was no reason to scare the kids unnecessarily. And if she didn't think about the worst case scenario, then maybe it couldn't happen.

"I called Mike," Lena softly told her wife. "He said he could help out with the kids as needed so I can stay with you."

Stef nodded. "Thanks… Oh, I should call my mom and let her know. I'll be back." She pulled out her phone and headed outside to use it.

Lena looked to their kids. "Everybody stay here; we'll be back," she told them before following her wife.

Just outside the door, Stef was leaning against the wall with her hand over her face. Lena instantly went to wrap her arms around her, but she moved away. "I'm fine," Stef protested.

"It's just me," Lena told her. "You don't have to pretend anymore." And after a moment's hesitation, Stef just crumbled. Lena held her close and they stayed together in silence for a long minute.

"I scared he's not going to make it," Stef finally whispered.

"What did the doctors say?"

"They're not sure."

"You said that he's in surgery, right? So there's still hope?"

Stef nodded and wiped her eyes. "Yeah. That's what I keep telling myself over and over so I can stay functional for the kids, but - "

"Let me worry about the kids. You don't have to worry about anybody but Frank."

Stef took a deep breath. Depending on other people didn't come easy for her, but she knew that she could lean on her wife. "Okay."

"Do you want me to call your mom, or are you okay?"

Stef shook her head. "I'm okay… Thank you."

Lena gave her a small smile. "That's what I'm here for."

* * *

Calling Sharon wasn't easy. Even though Stef's parents had divorced years earlier, they still cared about each other. It was even later at night in Florida than it was in California and Sharon had first gone from sleepy confusion to unmasked concern. The fact that the doctors were uncertain about Frank's prognosis didn't help.

"I'll get on the first flight in the morning," she promised her daughter. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Lena and I can help with the plane ticket," Stef offered. She knew it was a lot for her mom to make another cross-country trip so soon.

"Nonsense. You've got my five grandbabies to feed and clothe."

"Are you sure?"

She could almost hear her mother rolling her eyes. "Yes, Stefanie."

"Well, we'll come get you from the airport at least."

"No, I'll take a cab. Your father needs you more."

Stef bit her lip in a futile attempt to hold back tears. "I fought with him, Mom," she finally admitted. "And I said some pretty horrible things."

"He probably had it coming," Sharon replied.

"What if he…"

"Your father can't die. The devil wouldn't want the competition; he'd throw him right back."

Stef cracked a smile at that mental picture. "That's terrible, Mom."

"Mmm. What did you fight about?"

"Me. Lena. Our family. I've just wanted him to accept us. I know I said before that I didn't care what he thought, but..."

"But he's your Daddy."

"Yeah... I talked to him before they took him in for surgery... It seems like things are different now, but what if we don't get a chance to find out?"

"Oh, Stef. You will. Frank's too stubborn to leave you now."

She sniffled. "I hope so... I guess I should get back; Lena's with all the kids and I bet they're not doing so well."

"Don't forget to take care of yourself, too."

"Yeah. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight. I love you, baby girl."

"Love you, too, Mom."

* * *

Stef headed back inside, and took a seat next to Brandon. Jude got up from his place next to Callie and sat on her other side. He twined their fingers together and offered a little smile. Stef had to admit that cuddling with the boys made her feel a bit better.

After about two hours, the kids were getting sleepy, but didn't want to go home yet. Finally, Lena wasn't leaving the issue up for debate anymore. "Here," she told Brandon as she gave him the keys to the car. "Take everyone home, please, and all of you get some sleep. Mari, can you pick out some clothes for Mom and I for the morning?"

"Okay."

The kids all took turns getting hugs from each of the moms and left. Lena moved over a seat to sit next to her wife and the two of them leaned against each other. "Thank you," Stef whispered at one point.

Lena wrapped her arm around her shoulders. "I'm here whenever you need me, babe."

A man in scrubs came into the waiting room, and both women looked up. Silence lingered for a long moment before Stef finally spoke up.

"How is he?"

* * *

**TBC...**

**A/N: 2 ****I had to leave it there. Had to. But hopefully the next (and final) chapter will make up for having another cliffhanger.**


	8. Epilogue

_**A few weeks later...**_

The 2013 San Diego Pride Rally took place on a beautifully sunny evening. The weather was perfect and the turnout was incredible. While waiting for the speeches to start, the Foster boys got rainbow-colored flags that one of the volunteers was handing out. Jesus laughed as Jude started waving his flag high in the air; the younger boy's excitement for the weekend just couldn't be contained.

"Hey, where did those come from?" Callie asked as she, Mariana, and Talya rejoined the boys. They'd gone for a walk to look around.

"I'll grab you some," Brandon offered and headed off after the flag guy.

"I got you something," Callie told Jude, handing him the plastic bag that she had been carrying. Inside was a t-shirt with the words 'Pride is my Favorite Color' printed in rainbow colors across the front.

"That's perfect!" Jude exclaimed, and instantly pulled it on over top of the shirt that he was already wearing. His older siblings smiled.

"It looks good on you," Mariana told him.

Jude turned around, looking for one person's opinion in particular. "What do you think?" he asked Connor.

The other boy smiled at his best friend. He'd happily accepted an invitation to tag along with the Fosters for the weekend. "That's cool. Think I should get one, too?"

"Sure!"

Callie pointed to where the different vendors were set up. "I got it over there. Do you have your phone?" she asked Jude. He tapped his pocket. "Okay, we'll be waiting here."

As Jude and Connor ran off, Brandon came back with extra flags for his sisters and girlfriend. "Thanks," Callie told him. As he handed one to her, she smiled at the sight of his rainbow-colored fingernails. Mariana and Talya had painted everyone's nails that afternoon before they left the house.

Brandon looked at his hands as he noticed her gaze. "What?" he asked. "Did I mess them up already?"

Callie shook her head. "No, they look fine. Everyone's together looks really good." It was a nice showing of solidarity from the family. She'd never imagined that she and Jude would end up in a home like this.

* * *

Lena had been standing a few paces away from the kids, splitting her attention between watching them and watching Stef. Her wife hadn't been able to get into the spirit of things yet; she was leaning against a lamppost a little ways away, totally lost in thought.

"Hey," Lena said as she stood next to her. "Are you okay?"

Stef nodded and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Lena raised an eyebrow. "Don't lie to me, Stefanie Foster. You might be able to pass that off with the kids, but I know better."

She sighed. "Okay, I'm not fine."

Lena took her hand. "You're wishing your dad was here?"

Stef nodded. "Yeah… I shouldn't have taken no for an answer when I offered to have him ride with us. I mean, he just got cleared to start driving again this week! Ever since he got out of the hospital, he's been so ridiculously stubborn about staying independent."

"Would you expect anything less from your father?" Lena wondered.

Stef cracked a smile. "No." But as her melancholy look returned, Lena knew what her wife was really worried about.

"He'll be here, babe. He knows how important this is to you."

At that moment, Stef's cell phone started ringing. Frank's number was on the caller ID. "Dad?" she answered.

"I finally found a place to park," were the first words out of his mouth. "Whew, there are a lot of people here! Is it always like this?"

Stef laughed. "Pretty much."

"Where are you all?"

She looked around at the thousands of people surrounding them. "Um… It'll probably be easier if I just come get you. Where did you park?"

% ^ % ^ % % ^ % ^ %

When Stef and Frank rejoined the rest of the family, the kids all eagerly greeted their grandfather. "Isn't this cool?" Jude asked as he gave him a hug.

"It's definitely something," Frank agreed.

Stef watched as her father slowly took in what all of the kids were wearing. Connor's t-shirt now matched Jude's, and the other kids had Pride-themed attire as well. Mariana, Callie and Talya each had a rainbow of ribbon hanging from their ponytails and Lena had woven some of the colorful strands through her hair, too. It was all very loud and unapologetic and Stef wondered if maybe it was too much, too soon for her conservative father. Perhaps having him come to the rally had been a bad idea.

"Well," Frank finally said, looking down at his white polo shirt and khaki pants. "I suddenly feel a bit underdressed."

Mariana laughed. "We can get you some color, Grandpa."

"Good," he replied. "I want to show my pride for my family, too."

Stef offered him her flag. "This is a start," she told him.

Frank smiled as he took it. "Thank you."

Lena wrapped her arm around her wife's shoulders, and they shared a little grin. All they could hope for was to take things one step at a time.

* * *

The speeches at the rally were wonderful and everyone was exhausted but happy by the time they finally got home after dropping off Connor and Talya. "What's for dinner?" Jesus wondered as they trudged in through the kitchen door.

"Leftovers," Lena told him. "I'm too tired for anything else."

"I can make a salad," Mariana offered.

Stef kissed the top of her head. "Thank you, love."

As she went to open the door to the fridge, Mariana noticed something odd on the family calendar. "What's next Thursday?" she asked the moms. There was a big, red circle around the date.

Brandon frowned as he looked, too. "That's not anybody's birthday or anniversary or anything."

The moms smiled. "It will be," Stef told the kids.

"We got a call from our lawyer this morning," Lena explained. "Next Thursday is Callie and Jude's Adoption Day."

All of the kids' fatigue was magically forgotten. "It is?" Jesus wondered. "That was fast!"

Mariana wrapped her arms around Callie. "I'm so excited! I'll have a sister for real!"

Jude ran to hug each of the moms in turn. "Are you ready to be Fosters?" Stef asked him and Callie. They both nodded.

"I almost can't believe it," Callie replied.

"Do we get to call you Mom and Mama now, too?" Jude wondered.

Lena hugged him a little closer. "If you want to, we would love that. But you don't have to."

"I want to," Jude proclaimed. "Mom, Mama?"

Stef grinned. "Yes?"

"I'm hungry."

Everyone laughed and they started getting dinner together. The paperwork was a formality at this point - they all belonged together.

* * *

**Fin.**

**A/N: To everyone who has sent feedback - thank you so much. This week was pretty rough, but seeing e-mails with your comments always made me smile. I'm working on a 4th story for this series, but it's coming along slower than the first 3 did. So stay tuned; I'll be back eventually!**


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